VN pledges continuous search for US war dead

A Vietnamese diplomat has reaffirmed the Vietnamese Government’s
commitment to continue working with the US in the search for the
remains of American servicemen who died during the war in Vietnam .

Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Cuong made the pledge at the annual
meeting of the National League of Families of American Prisoners and
Missing in Southeast Asia in Washington DC on June 13.

He underlined Vietnam ’s position that it is a humanitarian action to
cooperate with the US in recovering the fallen soldiers.

He noted that thanks to the two sides’ concerted efforts, the remains
of 693 out of 1,983 missing US servicemen have been found in Vietnam
.

Cuong praised the US ’s transfer of information
shedding light on what may have happened to some of the 1,000
Vietnamese soldiers who went missing during the war. These sources
include the wartime diary of doctor Dang Thuy Tram and possessions
belonging to Vietnamese soldiers killed in action.

He
called for more support from the US Government and social organisations,
including the League, in helping the country deal with the remnants of
the war, especially with Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin issues and bomb and
mine clearance.

In a letter to the League, US
Secretary of State John Kerry described Ambassador Cuong’s first-ever
attendance at the annual meeting as a manifestation of the growing
bilateral relationship between the two countries.

Established in 1970, the League’s sole purpose is to obtain the release
of all prisoners, the fullest possible accounting for the missing and
repatriation of all recoverable remains of those who died serving the US
during the Vietnam War.-VNA